Seniority!

My team has very low turnover. I guess we all like working with each other, despite the dysfunctional things the company does. So, two years in, I've still been the newest contract negotiator in the group. That will soon change, as my colleague Brian is leaving to take a similar job at another company. More money, probably. So now, I'll only be #9 of 10 in terms of tenure. Even though I think my performance is good and would save me from the chopping block if it came to that, seniority at a company with flat sales and marginal profitability is also a good thing.

Spring

Weird weather we've been having. It was in the 70's yesterday, but it snowed today. I'm hoping it warms up this week for the trip to Arches. My kids don't have a lot of camping experience, so I hope they don't have this one ruined by cold weather. I've been getting stuff together tonight to get ready. I told a sales guy I'm working with on a huge deal that I won't be there on Friday and am leaving early on Thursday. He was none too pleased, but I don't care. I scheduled this time off about two months ago, and it's not like I'll be gone for a week. This deal has gotten the attention of some very high-level folks in the company, but I'm still entitled to a weekend with my brother. Besides, I don't expect much to happen on those days.

On another note, I still don't have a refund of my Expedia booking fee. But I did learn about Kayak.com, a cool Google of travel sites, which further diminishes the usefulness of Expedia.

"We expect to sign it this week"

I hate it when sales guys commit me to an unrealistic goal without consulting me. I have one significant partner deal that we hope to conclude in time to make an announcement at a major user conference. It's pretty close to being done, but there's no guarantee. Funny thing is, the sales guy swore to the business unit executives that it would be done by the end of the week. This was in October, and he's repeated that promise so many times since then, he's lost all credibility.

I try to never promise too much, since my schedule is often subject to major revisions. I may have a straightforward document that will take me only an hour to turn around--until I get blindsided by a million-dollar deal that takes huge amounts of my time for the next several days. Many of these problems could be avoided if the sales guys did a better job at communicating what's in the pipeline instead of trying to give away the farm and then bring me in at the last minute for contractual damage control.

New digs

I'm really enjoying my new office so far. I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. After all, I previously had an interior view through the office across the hall to essentially the same view, as I only moved 30 feet down the hall. My new office is the same size, too, so no change there. But I'm really enjoying the nice view of the valley, lake, and mountains, as well as the nearby golf course. I have a great view that is unobstructed by any nearby buildings. I'm several floors up, too, so I have a good vantage point.

Maybe I'm enjoying it so much because this has been such a long, cold winter. It's nice to look outside and see the harbingers of spring: the grass pushing through the snow, the staff readying the golf course for another season, the buds forming on the trees in anticipation of warmer weather on the way soon. I don't have any major projects planned for the house this year, so I hope to spend more time outside enjoying the spectacular scenery in the West.

I'm also planning a short trip to Arches National Park in April, which should be nice. My kids have never seen the park, and my brother from New England and his family will be meeting me there, so the cousins will get to spend some time together. I myself haven't camped there since I was my son's age, so my brother and I will be reliving some memories in the desert.